Private home completions up 18% to 8,789 units in 1H17

Sales of small units are driving this growth.

Government announced that private home completions amounted to 2,341 units in July, up about 1.3x MoM. On half year basis, Maybank Kim Eng said the completion figure was 8,789 units, up about 18% YoY and achieved ~51% of the government’s full-year target of 17,120 units. 

Here's more from Maybank Kim Eng:

Sales of small units are driving this growth. Among the completed homes in 1H17, small and medium units accounted for about 80%, roughly 40% higher than last year. Case in point is the recent 100% sell-through rate of 98 units for the “Novi” project in Mong Kok.

This is not surprising since buyers can apply for a high LTV mortgage (such as 60%) or even mortgage insurance on less expensive units, which could help to lower the overall downpayment. Developers are also willing to build smaller units given the higher demand as they are more affordable.